Lunch with Dominique Saibron

Dominique Saibron is quite a famous name among French bread and baguette lovers in Tokyo. I had heard a lot about his first, and main, shop located in Akasaka, where endless queues are formed everyday. I also read some reviews and it seems that everyone agree that his bread is one of the best, along with Maison de Kayser, in Tokyo. I was very curious to try but the truth is, i rarely go to Akasaka…

Lucky for me, a new shop opened recently in Shinjuku, 5 minutes from my work place. This new boulangerie, quite small but very clean and minimal looking is located near Shinjuku Gyoen (park), convinient for a lunch in the park on a sunny day, just like today :) And the best thing about that one shop is that there’s hardly any queue!

Dominique Saibron’s Atelier sells every weekdays a “lunchbox”, a very cute and old fashion paperbox containing two small sandwiches and a mini pastry. The box’s content changes every week with new sandwiches variation. For 890yens it may seem a bit expensive and my biggest concern was about how fresh the sandwiches would turn out to be. But in the end I was really pleased with how it looked and tasted.

The first sandwich was a Vienna bread, soft and subtly sweet, with a kind of Nicoise salad (a mix of potatoes, black olives, some red and yellow peppers and tuna). Very fresh and delicious, it gave me a last little taste of summer (in the middle of September it’s a nice feeling).

The second sandwich was a bit smaller but delicious too. A small round bread with brown sesame, with a piece of roast chicken seasoned with good old grainy mustard. I think i liked that one better because i could really taste the bread, which had a lot of flavor.

For the finish, a mini chocolate croissant (or “chocolatine” like we say in my hometown). It didn’t look the way i like it best: soft and warm with the chocolate almost melting inside. On the contrary it tended to be crispy and crumble a bit, but the taste… was surprisingly good! A very authentic French taste that is quite hard to find in Japan, even in the best bakeries.

I was very pleased with that lunchbox! It was the perfect treat for a nice relaxing lunch in the park, reading a good novel surrounded by the beautiful nature and quietness in the middle of Shinjuku.